Michael Thomas made it through the first several weeks without any major setbacks, but he's dealing with one now.
Thomas was absent from the team's open practice in the Caesars Superdome on Sunday, and head coach Dennis Allen clarified that it was not a rest day and he was dealing with "a little bit of a hamstring."
Thomas didn't see any action in the first two preseason games, but that was the case for a majority of the Saints' starters. He'd been active in all but a handful of practices, with those previous absences being attributed as rest days.
The absences on Sunday and Monday as the team got back from Green Bay were of a different variety. But Thomas is not alone. In all the Saints had 13 players miss practice on Monday, a majority of whom were out for a second consecutive day.
"Part of it is we are at that point of camp and you do have a lot of nicks and bruises and things of that nature that you have to kind of battle through," Allen said Monday. "That’s the nature of training camp. It’s been that everywhere I’ve ever been, and we’re dealing with a little of it now.”
Allen had said previously that "when the ball kicks off for real" Thomas will be ready to go.
Related
Despite those absences, there was positive injury news with Jameis Winston continuing to ramp up his workload after missing time with a foot injury. He participated in some drills on Sunday, but was active in all but one set of team drills on Monday. It's still unclear whether he'll see action in the final preseason game.
The Saints close out their preseason schedule on Friday when they host the L.A. Chargers, then get a week off before the season-opener on the road against the Atlanta Falcons on Sept. 11.